Arnel Pineda is best known as the new lead singer for the rock group Journey.
Arnel Pineda was born on September 5, 1967, in Sampaloc, Manila, in the Philippines. Throughout his childhood, Pineda endured grave misfortune. When he was just 13 years old, his mother, who was 35 at the time, passed away after a long battle with heart disease.
Who is the current lead singer of Journey?
After a series of unfortunate events in his childhood, Arnel Pineda found success in Asia as the front man for the group The Zoo.
In 2007, he was discovered by Journey guitarist Neal Schon, after a series of YouTube videos were posted of him covering American songs, including the famous hit, “Dont Stop Believin’.”
In December 2007, Pineda became the new lead singer of Journey. His is noted for having a strikingly similar sound to former Journey front man Steve Perry.
Pineda’s love of music started at a young age. He began singing at just five years old, and had entered many singing contests as a child.
In 1982, when he was 15, Pineda was introduced to a local band called Ijos, and was encouraged by his friends to try out as their new lead singer. He sang the Beatles’ “Help” and Air Supply’s “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All.” Although they were concerned with his lack of training, Ijos members were wowed by Pineda’s powerful voice, and took him on as the new front man of the band.
One of the band member’s friends even offered to pay Pineda’s salary, 35 pesos a night, out of his own pocket, and Pineda was offered a tiny room to sleep under the guitarist’s front stairs.
